Card collecting rack



Feb. 3, 1959 w. A. KROPP f 2,872,185

' CARD COLLECTING RACK Filed Sept. 12, 1955 v v 2 SheetsSheet 1 a WILL ZKWR P FIG. I

AGENT United States CARD COLLECTING RACK Willis A. Kropp, Binghamton, N.Y., assignor to International Business Machines Corporation, New York,N. Y., a corporation of New York This invention relates to card racksand more particularly to an improved card rack having means operable tomechanically collect the individual time cards carried in the rack.

The many advantages of utilizing clock stamped time cards for recordingthe working hours of employees are of course well established. However,one difficulty which remains in a great number of plants making use ofthis system is that of quickly and efiiciently collecting the cards froma number of time racks. In many plants the design of the card racks issuch that it is necessary for the clerk, charged with thisresponsibility, to remove each card individually from its place in thecard racks. Other designs permit manual removal of a group of cards fromthe rack in one operation. This later design though advantageous demandssome manual dexterity and in many cases requires the use of both handsin order to avoid the possibility of dropping the cards. Thedifliculties encountered with the use of card racks of this naturebecome an acute problem in a large plant having numerous individualracks from which the cards must be collected. This is especially sowhere the accounting and checking systems utilized demand that the cardsbe collected daily.

Thus it is the object of the present invention to provide an improvedcard rack which includes a receptacle manually operable to collect insequential order a group of the cards carried in the rack.

In carrying out this object, the improved card rackis provided with avertical channel running through each of the individual card slots. Acard collector is slidably mounted on the rack and carries a tonguewhich extends into this vertical channel and is effective when the cardcollector is raised to collect the individual cards carried in the cardslots. Frictional means are provided to hold the card collector at anyposition after the cards are collected to allow for easy removal of thegroup of cards and thus facilitate one hand operation.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out in the followingdescription and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,which disclose, by way of examples, the principle of the invention andthe best mode, which has been contemplated, of applying that principle.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an isometric View of the improved card rack.

Fig. 2 is a detail view taken from the rear of the card rack and showingthe card collector in its uppermost position.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken through the middle of the card rack andshowing the card collector being raised to collect the individual cardsin the rack.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on lines 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 shows a pair of adjacently mounted card racks with the cardcollectors having been raised to their uppermost position to collect allthe cards in the rack.

The card rack unit as in shown in Figs. 1 and 4 comprises an elongatedframe 16 to which is attached a pair of formed plate members 12. Thesemembers 12 are mounted parallel to each other and each contains apluatent rality of vertically spaced card separators 14. Theseseparators 14 are aligned to form a pluarity of individual card slotsspaced along the vertical length of the rack. The frame 16 is formed toinclude a vertical recess 16a (Fig. 4), and the members 12 are mountedon either side of this recess to form therewith a channel 17 running thevertical length of the card rack.

A carriage in the form of a sleeve 20 is slidably mounted on the spacedmembers 12 and frame 16. This sleeve 20 has attached to its a tongue 22which extends between the separators 14 into the recess in frame 16.Each of the members 12 is formed to supply a stop 24 for the sleeve 20when it is in the normal or lower position shown in Fig. 1.

The sleeve 20 is sprung inward to bear against the members 12 withsufficient frictional force to hold the sleeve in place after it hasbeen raised. Collection of any number of individual cards in the rackmay be accomplished by manually gripping the sleeve 20 and raising it tothe desired up position. Once raised, the frictional engagement betweenthe sleeve 20 and members 12 will hold the sleeve in the raised positionand the cards collected may then be easily removed from the rack. As thesleeve is raised cards are collected by the extending tongue 22 which asshown in Fig. 3 engages the lowermost edge of each of the cards in therack. Since, as is shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the card separators 14 areinclined outward the cards will be collected in the receptacle formed bythe sleeve 20 and the extending tongue 22 in the same sequence in whichthey are arranged in the rack. The width of the front portion 20a ofsleeve 20 is only slightly greater than that of the cards so that thesleeve is effective to laterally adjust and group the cards as they arecollected, and the angle of the tongue 22 is so disposed that the cardswill lie forward in the receptacle and thus not interfere with ejectionof subsequent cards. The upper portion 14a of each inclined separatorserves, as sleeve 20 is raised, to force previously collected cards intothe front or pocket portion 20a of the sleeve so that the cards aregrouped and laterally adjusted as they are collected.

Studs 23 (Figs. 1 and 5), are secured to the sides of plate members 12to provide an upper stop for the sleeve 24 and thus prevent the sleevefrom being moved olf the rack unit. Fig. 5 shows a pair of adjacent rackunits, the sleeves of which have been raised to their uppermost positionand are being held in that position by the frictional engagement betweensleeve 20 and members 12. After the groups of cards have been removedfrom an individual rack, downward pressure on the sleeve will restore itto its lower position against the stop surface 24 in readiness for thenext ejection cycle. Noise elimination and smoothness of operation areaccomplished by the felt runners 35 which are cemented to the innersurface of the carriage 20.

Another feature of the invention is illustrated in the embodiment ofFig. 5. Secured to adjacent sides of the sleeve 20 of the card rackthere shown are a pair of fingers 32 and 34. These fingers are somounted that when sleeve 20 of the left hand rack is raised to collectthe cards therein the finger 32 will engage finger 34 to likewise raisethe sleeve of the'right hand rack. With interconnecting fingers such asthese, it is possible to collect all or a number of the cards carried ina plurality of card racks merely by raising one sleeve of the group to rthe desired level.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out thefundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferredembodiment, it will be understood that various omissions andsubstitutions and changes in the form and details of the deviceillustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in thePatented Feb. 3, 1959 v.

art, without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is theintention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope ofthe following claims.

What is claimed is: 1

l. A card rack comprising an oblongfra'me, apair 6 formed membersvertically mounted in parallelspaced 'relationship on said frame, aplurality ofincli'ned cardseparators in each of said members, saidseparatorsin eabh member'being aligned wi'th'e'ach other reform avertical row of supports for removably carrying the cards, a sleevemounted on said members, said sleeve being normally positioned at thelower extremity of said members but movable vertically thereon, a tonguemounted on said sleeve and extending into the space between saidparallel members to collect cards carried in the aligned slots as saidsleeve is moved upwad on said members, said sleeve and said separatorsbeing formed'to cooperate to effect lateral adjustment of Said cards asthey are collected, and means forholding said sleevestationa'ry in anyvertical position on said rack.

2. A card rack comprisinga frame, a pair of members vertically mountedin parallel spaced relationship on said frame, a plurality of inclinedsupportsin said members so aligned as to 'form a vertical row ofsupportsfor removably carrying the cards, a sleeve having a pocketportion, said sleeve being mounted on said members and movablelongitudinally with respect to the row of card supports therein, anda'tongue mounted on said sleeve and extend ing into the space betweensaid parallel members to engage the cards carried inthe aligned supportsas the sleeve is moved on said members, said inclined supports beingframe so that said slots form, a vertical channel through the pluralityof card separators, "a card collector mounted on said frame, saidcollector being normally positioned at the lower extremity of said framebut movable vertical- 1y thereon, a tongue mounted on said cardcollector and extending into said vertical channel to engage the cardscarried by said card separators as said card collector is moved upwardon said frame, said inclined separators eing effective to force eachcard engaged by said tongue into said collector as it is raised, saidcollector being ,formed to laterally adjust the cards as they, arecollected and capable of remaining stationary in araised position onsaid frame with the cards collected therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS460,165 Stebbins et al. Sept. 29, 1891 855,862 Morse June 4, 1907905,578 Read Dec. 1, 1908 959,644 Sullivan May 31, 1910 1,861,406 CookMay 31, 1932 2,629,590 Smith Feb. 24, 1953 2,710,473 Kress lune 14, 1955

